WomenWOW — Female Entrepreneurs Are Shaping the Face of a New Business Landscape

As the male dominated single income household is quickly diminishing, women are impacting the business world in record numbers. Women are building their own business empires and rising up the executive ranks with vengeance. In 2010 women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in history. Women have emerged as key drivers in new business creation.

Female Facts

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over the last 17 years, women-owned businesses have increased dramatically. According to the State-Owned Business Report, commissioned by American Express, the rate of increase is a staggering 68% since 1997, with more than 9.1 million women-owned businesses operating in 2014, up from 8.6 million in 2013. This surging-growth pace, which has doubled in three years, has helped to generate nearly $1.5 trillion in revenues for women-owned businesses.

Did you know that businesses with women entrepreneurs perform as well as or better than those led by men. According to Babson, businesses with a woman on the executive team are more likely to have higher valuations at both first and last funding (64 percent higher and 49 percent higher, respectively).

And did you also know that women are partners in 45.7% of businesses, and women-owned firms account for nearly 30% of all new businesses.

Guardian Life projects that female owned businesses could create 5 million to 5.5 million new jobs across the United States by 2018 and that women account for half of all new businesses, generating 1/3 of the new jobs created according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Anatomy of a Successful Female Entrepreneur

According to the Kauffman Foundation "Women are increasingly integral to entrepreneurship and innovation — the lynchpins of individual economic independence and dynamic economic growth. The future of American growth is in the hands of women."

So what are the primary financial & psychological factors motivating women to become entrepreneurs? Drivers have been things like childhood experiences that encouraged entrepreneurship, as well as the desire to pursue an idea, the potential for greater financial gain & independence, a strong desire to live on one’s own terms, and to navigate business success.

A successful female entrepreneur:

Dreams BIG

Is passionate about what she does

Knows her strengths & weaknesses

Steps outside of her comfort zone

Sets high goals

Is financially savvy; sets budgets & a long term capital strategy for the business

Is Persistent

Treats time and energy as scarce resources

Is Humble and willing to learn

Is able to handle criticism

Creates a culture of success; build an infrastructure that reflects your values

Networks; joins more networks and a greater variety of networks

Has a great personal support network

Is an active listener

Is an extraordinary communicator

Has a strong sense of purpose

Differentiates herself from the pack

Won’t compromise integrity for money

Defines success on her own terms

Effectively balances family and business responsibilities

Invests both money and time in her intellectual, physical, and spiritual well-being

“F”entrepreneur Connections

Channel the Energy, Socialize, Read, Follow…CONNECT

Knowledge is wisdom. Finding the right resources is key. Networking is paramount. Supporting, Promoting, Contributing to Women is crucial. We can never have too many channels to promote our business, right? Well, we've collected a few of our favorites that encompass all of these key qualities.

The Next Women — The Next Women is a community of Investors, Entrepreneurs & Advisers who build formats to support the growth of female entrepreneurs; from startups to companies making millions

Women 2.0 — is the world’s largest community-driven media brand designed for the next generation of technology leaders. Women 2.0 creates content, community & events for aspiring &current innovators in technology